PM Modi urges ministers to ease rules, as IndiGo crisis sparks fresh questions on governance
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged NDA lawmakers on Wednesday to reform rules and systems in ways that help people rather than trouble them. He delivered this message during a meeting with ruling alliance MPs, as IndiGo airlines continued to struggle with severe operational disruptions nationwide.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju shared the PM’s words after the meeting. He said the Prime Minister asked ministers to ensure that rules never burden citizens. Rijiju added that the PM wanted every law to support convenience, not create new hurdles. He said the government must keep public interest at the center while carrying out reforms across sectors.
The PM’s message gained significance because IndiGo has remained in crisis for a week. The airline cancelled or delayed hundreds of flights since last Tuesday. It failed to plan for new duty-hour limits for pilots. As a result, it faced an acute shortage of flight crew and triggered chaos across major airports.
Thousands of passengers struggled with long delays, last-minute cancellations and lack of clarity on rescheduling. Critics questioned IndiGo’s internal planning. They also raised concerns about regulatory monitoring in the aviation sector.
With pressure rising, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued show-cause notices to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras. The regulator asked them to explain why the airline allowed such large-scale disruptions. Sources told India Today that IndiGo sent a “highly guarded” response to the Centre on Monday.
Meanwhile, the government called a high-level meeting today. Senior officials from the civil aviation ministry and top airline operators joined the discussion. They focused on stabilizing the schedules and preventing further breakdowns in services.
The DGCA also ordered IndiGo to cut its daily flight schedule by 5 per cent. It said the airline failed to operate its existing roster efficiently. In its directive, the regulator stressed that IndiGo must align its operations with realistic staffing levels. It also warned against running single-flight sectors that offer no room for recovery during disruptions.
The watchdog instructed the airline to reduce flights across multiple routes. It asked IndiGo to impose steeper cuts on high-frequency and high-demand sectors where disruptions hit passengers the hardest. Officials said these temporary reductions would help the airline rebuild buffers and improve stability.
IndiGo must submit a revised schedule by 5 pm on Thursday. The regulator will review the updated roster before approving any future expansion of operations.
As the IndiGo crisis unfolds, the PM’s message to lawmakers reflects a broader expectation: government systems must serve citizens first. The call for people-friendly reforms comes at a moment when public patience with aviation disruptions continues to thin. The government now faces the dual challenge of enforcing accountability and restoring confidence in India’s busiest airline network.
